Geralt can feel the chain vibrating even without the pendant pressed against his skin.
"What's that?" Jaskier speaks around his tongue, using it to wedge some of the quail out of his teeth.
"Shit." Geralt throws his meal down with vehemence. "Get ready."
He expected the knight, fucking prick he was, to pull his sword. But for Jaskier to draw a dagger and take stance was… unexpected, to say the least.
"What is going on?" The knight - Rigal. Geralt corrects himself, sidles forward, eyes scanning the darkness around them.
"His necklace does a thing when something's near." Jaskier butts in, leaning too close. Those blue eyes catching the fire's glow like lightning.
Geralt can smell the quail on his breath. Fuck. "Pay attention." He admonishes, adjusting his own blade. "You know how to use that, Bard?"
"I learned a few things while you were in harmonious matrimonial bliss." Jaskier's voice takes on that annoying sarcastic tone, he moves away, turning out.
"Ah, I forget you two have history." Rigal moves in closer as something in the darkness chitters unnervingly. "Can we finish our lovers quarrel after ensuring our safety?"
"Ah, right." Jaskier chuckles.
"We aren't." Geralt hisses simultaneously.
Jaskier tsks, "Same sense of humor as always." But the words are dry; angry.
Geralt's rebuttal interrupted by a subtle hissing click.
"An insectoid?" Rigal looks over his shoulder.
Before Geralt can respond Jaskier leans back. "Yeah, centipede sounds like." He sighs. "Shouldn't take long with three of us. Quicker than last time. How are we doing it?"
"You slay now?" Geralt's arms fall, he turns in shock.
"Oh-" They're interrupted by the creature attacking. Jaskier focuses on cutting off legs, Rigal stabs at sections and Geralt slices its head off, pinchers first.
"It got boring-!" Jaskier grunts, swinging his dagger, dodging a bone crushing thrust of the monsters sections in retaliation "-just watching time after-!" He moved to his feet, swinging out again, taking five more legs down with him as the beast fell. "-time."
"Well!" Rigal beamed, wiping his blade off on a cloth from his saddle bag. "That went infinitely faster, you were right Dandelion!"
Geralt's brows rise at the nickname.
"My name means…" Jaskier waves it off, "No, no. Nevermind."
Rigal is an original character, a disgraced knight-errant. He's fuckin' chill. Totally in love with a nobel woman. There's some in-world politics involved with his story so I can't reveal too much.
Jaskier's got a one-handed dagger. I thought about making him dual-weild, but there's... a scene. As long as things go to plot. I refuse to believe a guy who follows danger and can catch arrows wouldn't pick up some self-preservation skills.
Geralt is a mix of game, book, and tv show (though it follows tv show events). I bought the game specifically for this fic. God, I'm a fucking idiot I know.
If you want to be added to the tag list lemme know.
s-u-f-j-a-n-s-t-e-v-e-n-s
stormborns
